Book: Serendepia - Robert Knox's escape from Ceylon after 20 years by Mike Lord

Mike Lord

about this book: This is actually a true story, and may have been the incentive for Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, which was published several years after this story. In 1659, there was a ship called the "Ann" that was partially shipwrecked off the coast of Ceylon, as it was known in those days. The Captain and about twenty of the crew were tricked and taken captive, and held captive for about twenty years. Captain Robert Knox was persuaded to write about it and in 1681 published "An historical relation of Ceylon". The publisher was Richard Chiswell in St Paul's Churchyard, in London.

This book attempts to retell the story of three members of the ship's crew relating to their years of captiviy, and then their escape to Colombo, and thence London.

The author has lived in Sri Lanka, visited each of the places of captivity and has actually retraced the steps of the captives when they managed to escape.